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Togo, Ark Royal also took part in Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Norway. A veteran of that operation who served on the Ark told me that as part of the evacuation, the RAF didn't want to leave their Hurricanes behind and have to destroy them. A plan was hatched to land the Hurricanes on Glorious, something that had never been attempted before. As the Huricanes were approaching the Glorious, all the ships' company from the Ark were on deck to watch this momentous event. The squadron leader at the time was Sir Kenneth Cross. He said they didn't need the full length of the deck. They all successfully landed using only half the deck. Sadly, they were all lost a few days later when Glorious was sunk. Sir Kenneth Cross survived for 4 days in the Arctic Sea, was rescued and went back into service a few weeks later, surviving the war.
The veteran of Ark Royal was a man called Roy Stevens, from Fordingbridge. He also wrote to me. This is a small extract from his letter:
"Although many sad things happened during the war, we didn't really have time to mourn. Many ships were lost or damaged by enemy action; many aircraft failed to return and some which did, went over the side. 'There but for the grace of God....'
I did see tears once; tears shed by men of all three services who had advanced up the desert from El Alamein. It was at a 1942 Christmas concert in a bombed theatre in Bengazi. The padre said, 'We'll sing some carols first'. Sitting in the rubble, under the night sky, they sang Silent Night, with tears upon their cheeks, as thoughts of home came crowding the mind. Tears which should have been shed in our youth and early manhood by years of trials and tribulations of work and raising a family. For some of them, this was their last Christmas."
Poignant memories from a navy veteran. Sad eh?